1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automated tools for information management. In particular, the present invention relates database system for managing documents accessible locally (e.g., over an intranet) and remotely (e.g., over the Internet).
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Vast amount of information is published on the Internet or within the corporate intranets. Individuals and business organizations are increasingly relying on the Internet or corporate intranets for information retrieval and dissemination. For example, a research staff member at a major corporation may follow recent announcements about a particular product; a human resource staff member may post bulletins on an intranet, and retrieve labor regulation updates from government agency web sites.
To manage the information received and disseminated, users need tools which can provide more effective and reliable information organization, sharing, and management capabilities than those available from current search engines. For example, using a generic search engine to perform corporate tasks will result in a significant loss of productivity because finding relevant information via such a search engine, if not impossible, is a time-consuming process.
Thus, a need arises to provide services for efficient document management for the documents on the Internet and these intranets. In particular, efficient querying and retrieval tools are needed for locating information that exists in corporate networks. Generic search engines are inadequate for supporting complex queries against corporate data and lack information organization capabilities. Traditional database management systems(DBMS), which allow complex queries and support data management and organization, are inadequate to support the poorly structured and poorly organized documents and sources, such as those related by the World Wide Web (xe2x80x9cWebxe2x80x9d). Further, conventional database systems fail to take advantage of subscription-notification services, which notify and update subscribers as information is published, to customize Web access and to filter out irrelevant information.
Also, in a business environment, sophisticated access control to information is necessary. For example, control access to information by individuals, projects, and departments is desirable. In addition, it is also desirable to access information, not only on the basis of keywords, but also on the basis of other contents such as images, tables, forms, and link information. Such alternative access schemes require a comprehensive query support and effective data management. Further, people who work together may want their individual repositories of information shared and pooled in the form of a project repository.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a document management system is provided for organizing, sharing and managing Web and intranet documents efficiently. In that document management system, users store documents in databases which can be queried based on both document content and intra-document structures and inter-document links. In addition, access control allows users to share databases, or to create additional databases by logically combining multiple physical or logical databases.
In one embodiment, the database of the present invention allows a hierarchical organization of information, based on semantics and corporate organizational structure. A user can query and navigate his or her own document databases and other accessible document databases using automated query processing and dynamic links facilities. Dynamic links cross-reference multiple document databases using content semantics or other criteria. Accordingly, efficient sharing of information in the work place is achieved.
The present invention can be carried out using various algorithms for query processing and access control. In addition, a document management system of the present invention integrates a subscription-notification service to update, in a timely manner, information received from the Internet and intranets. Further, the present invention also provides a tool which assists users in visualizing and organizing accessible Web document databases and their contents.
In one embodiment of the present invention, queries based on document metadata, intra-document structures, and inter-document links are supported. Query processing under the present invention provides performance and reliability far exceeding those attained by conventional Web search engines using keyword searches.
The present invention supports information sharing. To that end, a document management system of the present invention allows users to create and organize individual databases in a hierarchy fashion to reflect the organizational structure and to allow workspace collaboration.